357 



OBITUARY. 



We have just learned, through Dr. Marx, of the sad death of Count 

 Eugene Keyserliug, which occurred at Eeichenbach, Silesia, April 4. 

 Count Keyserling's death is an irretrievable loss to the study of Amer- 

 ican Arachnology. For a number of years he had been engaged in 

 studying the spiders of North America, and had published in the Ver. 

 d. k-k. Zool. Bot. Ges. seven numbers of his "New Spiders from Amer- 

 ica." He had also published a monograph upon the Laterigrades of 

 America and the Theridiidie of America. In the last two monographs 

 he used, in addition to his other material, Dr. Marx's extensive collec- 

 tion, and also in the two last numbers of his "New Spiders from Amer- 

 ica." He was also engaged upon a monograph of the Epeiridte of 

 North America, but some time before his death interrupted this work 

 to finish the great monograph commenced by Koch on the "Spiders of 

 Australia." At the present writing we are not informed as to whether 

 this work is completed, but if not it soems to be followed by a fatality, 

 for Koch lost his eyesight while engaged upon it. Count Keyserliug 

 was quite advanced in years. 



THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



May 2, 18&9. — Mr. Ashmead read a paper on some Soutli American Chalcididce. He 

 exhibited a number of interesting genera not found in Nortli America, aud gave bis 

 reasons for changing the systematic position of several genera. He also showed a 

 remarkable Encyrtid, with six-branched antennae, allied to Tetracnemus. 



Mr. Howard read a paper on "The Authorsbip of the Familj'^ Mymayiclw.'^ He 

 showed that the authority should be "Haliday," as he used it with family rank in 

 "Hym. Brit.," Loudon, 1839. 



Mr. Schwarz read a paper on "Economic Entomology in Southern Florida." He 

 found most of the cultivated plants remarkably free from injurious iusects, especially 

 the semi-tropical ones. The Limes, however, have a serious enemy in Art'qnis Jiorlda- 

 nus, which is especially destructive to the buds on the young trees. Egg-plants and 

 tomatoes were also badly infested, the latter by a West Indian Heteropterou (Pthia 

 picta), not hitherto found in the United States. 



Mr. Schwarz also spoke of the beetle {Lasioderma sei-rkornt) in smoking tobacco. 

 It is rarely found in tobacco manufactured in the North or in the very finely cut (so- 

 called "Turkish") tobaccos. In tobacco badly infested the insect may be found in 

 all stages at any season of the year. 



William H. Fox, M. D., 



liecording Secretary. 



23105— No. li 3 



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